Episode Transcript

Michael Abernathy 0:00
Hey what’s up everybody? Welcome back to THE a.m. Welcome back to five minute rants. I’ve got Andrew Edwards here with me. Welcome back man. Well, you didn’t really go anywhere we just stopped the last episode and started this one. But today, everybody today, the same day as yesterday for us, but two days for you. We are going to talk about What is a brand. And I think this is an interesting conversation so that we can actually define What we’re talking about. So you want to go first or you want me to go first? Oh, we can rock paper scissors.

Andrew Edwards 0:40
Let’s Rock Paper, Scissors,

Michael Abernathy 0:41
Alright. You ready? Go real quick. It’s precious time.

Andrew Edwards 0:43
Rock, paper, scissors, shoot. Okay, it’s a tie, rock, paper, scissors, shoot,

Michael Abernathy 0:47
You win. You first.

Andrew Edwards 0:48
I’ll go first. So I’m going to quote Marty Neumeier, who talks a lot about brand

Michael Abernathy 0:53
I like Marty Neumeier.

Andrew Edwards 0:54
I don’t even know if this is a quote, this is an article about him. Or it basically summarizes What he said. And it says a brand is a result. It’s a customer’s gut feeling about a product service or company. It’s not What you say it is. It’s What they say it is a brand is your reputation.

Michael Abernathy 1:13
I agree with that. Because I think companies so to me, a company is actually a living organization, it is a living being or a living entity, it is alive, which means it has its own personality, its own identity. It has its own thoughts about itself, belief sets about itself and the world. And then it operates in that way and the brand is what people think about you.

Andrew Edwards 1:37
Makes sense.

Michael Abernathy 1:38
Right? Are you a respectable citizen? Are you a businessman? Are you a superstar? What are you and that’s the brand

Andrew Edwards 1:46
Yeah, that I mean, that totally makes sense. It’s like, so the brand it’s your reputation. It’s not just your logo. It’s not just like your visuals or the way you look necessarily. It’s how your reputation is.

Michael Abernathy 1:59
That’s a cool idea.

Andrew Edwards 2:00
And then the idea that you’re also talking about of like, a business as an organization is interesting. And I don’t know, What kind of language would you put for that? Like, how would you define a business as a living organism?

Michael Abernathy 2:12
So I think of it as a person, like, you know, as a person that’s like, What do I have to offer in the world that is valuable? What do I produce? When I go into a community or a networking group? I personally often think like, What can I give back, do I provide value? That’s part of my identity of work. That’s part of me. Right? I have to get up and work. I’m also, you know, really involved in my family. That’s part of who I am. And all those things translate just the same as a company, the companies take care of just the individual, just the employee or they actually think about the family that’s attached to that employee? What about the cultures, the beliefs, what does the company provide that is valuable that allows them to move forward? And so if you think of a person, it directly correlates and translates into a company and that’s why there’s a lot of people who say that, if you have a business, and if you own a company, that company is you.

Andrew Edwards 3:08
Yep. 100% true.

Michael Abernathy 3:10
Because you just replicate yourself.

Andrew Edwards 3:11
So true. So true.

Michael Abernathy 3:14
It’s like a company a skill sets, a skill sets, you know, like, a offering or a product, right? Oh, I have the skills to like Starbucks, make this cup of coffee, Here’s all my skill sets. And if you hire me for just a brief moment, on your way to work for $3, I can give you my cup of coffee that I made with all my skill sets. You know, like that small interaction in Starbucks is that person walked in the door hire Starbucks for the job of making them coffee their way. And so it’s like, it’s literally like, oh, Starbucks becomes employed by that individual in that moment at that cash register. And that’s how a person is, I gotta get a job here are all my skill sets. Here’s What I’m good at. Here are my hard skills, my Soft Skills, all that. Oh, and Here’s What I’ve done with my life for the past 20 years. And so that’s the menu. Hey, Here’s how we make coffee.

Andrew Edwards 4:01
Interesting.

Michael Abernathy 4:01
Then that’s their story. Oh, this is the story. This is why we exist. Here’s our belief sets. This is why we want to work for you. This is why you should hire us to design your clothes. And why you should wear our logo. It’s just like people.

Andrew Edwards 4:16
That’s interesting. Yeah, that’s really interesting.

Michael Abernathy 4:19
What do you think about all that you got like 40 seconds.

Andrew Edwards 4:22
No, I think it’s great. I’m thinking about a company and seeing its history and thinking about just that point you made is really interesting seeing its history and What they offer as a reflection by What they offer is really interesting in their story in that and it’s like that’s one thing we say is like our offerings are part of our story, but like it really is the story.

Michael Abernathy 4:40
Yeah, I agree with that.

Andrew Edwards 4:41
So really interesting thoughts.

Michael Abernathy 4:44
I forgot to start the outro music.

Andrew Edwards 4:46
Well, let’s make it in five minutes.

Michael Abernathy 4:48
We will make it in five minutes. All the things I have to do because I don’t have a producer sitting here with me. I’m a producer, talker, speaker, guest interviewer and recorder button pusher Well, that’s it guys. I’m sorry we’re out of time. So welcome to the two most informal episodes of five minute rants you’ve probably heard up to this point.

Andrew Edwards 5:13
Nice.

Michael Abernathy 5:14
Hope you have a great night. It’s nighttime from where I’m at, and if not have a great day. Peace, peace.